Spanish dash for Captain Rob

Exeter skittles captain Rob Parkhouse interrupted a Spanish holiday with his wife to make a 24 hour trip back to the UK to play in the finals of the Gasket Guy British Skittles Championships at the weekend.

Rob Parkhouse (pictured above) who captains the Loungers team at The Kings pub, tempted fate by booking a holiday to Majorca, knowing it would clash with the finals of the Gasket Guy British Skittles Championships.

"I suppose I thought we wouldn’t qualify," said Rob, who’s played for the team for thirty years.

"When we got through to the finals I knew I had to get back somehow.  So I looked at flights and realised it could be done so I set about booking."

Rob landed at Bristol Airport at 2.30 am on Saturday morning and then drove home to snatch some sleep.  Less than five hours later he was in his team t-shirt, heading for Torquay’s Riviera Centre to captain the side in their third attempt at the British title.

Sadly the team didn’t survive the group round but at least Rob’s mission was accomplished.  Next day he was back up to Bristol Airport for a flight to Palma to rejoin his patient wife and resume their holiday.

Has he been ribbed by his team mates?

"Of course, but they do that all the time anyway," said Rob,

None of Exeter’s teams survived the group rounds this year after a couple of vintage years when Two Tribes won the mixed championships two years running, whilst the Heavitree Heroes were men’s runners up in 2014 followed by the Saints the following year.